Predictions

Best Picture

‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ predictions: Which three queens will make it to next week’s Season 9 finale?

This Friday the last regular episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 9 will air before next week’s finale and reunion where RuPaul Charles crowns his latest drag superstar. There are only four queens left trying to prove they have the most charisma, uniqueness, nerve and talent: Peppermint from New York, Sasha Velour from Brooklyn, Shea Coulee from Chicago and Trinity Taylor from Orlando. Before you update your final predictions in our weekly event, let’s take one last look at how each of the four have performed in challenges and runways so far this season.

Peppermint – leads predictions to finish 4th (2/1 odds): For many weeks early in the competition, Peppermint lead our predictions as a possible elimination. In that regard, that she’s lasted this long comes as a surprise, but there’s enough evidence in her track record to consider a Top 4 finish well-deserved. Though she’s the only queen left to have lip synched for her life twice, those lip synchs (one against Cynthia Lee Fontaine and one against Alexis Michelle) are two of the season’s best. In fact, as the other queens have noted, Peppermint excels most when her personality takes precedence over her looks so the lip synch is where she shines the brightest. With one lip synch left before the finale, Peppermint could actually advance to the Top 3 if she can send one of the others home on the strength of another iconic performance.

Sasha Velour – leads predictions to finish 3rd (21/10 odds): Looking at stats alone, it’s easy to understand why Sasha is a near shoe-in to make it to the finale–she’s the only queen left that hasn’t been in the bottom two and aside from that only has one appearance in the bottom three (episode 7). Though she trails Shea and Trinity in challenge wins (two to their four and three, respectively) and both of them were shared (with Shea), she beats Trinity with more Top 3 placements overall (and, again, ties Shea). In many ways, Sasha has been the token runner-up of the season, always falling just short of a solo win, so it wouldn’t be a major surprise to see her finish the season just where she started, in second place.

Shea Coulee – leads predictions to finish 1st (13/10 odds) or 2nd (19/10 odds): Shea leads our predictions in both of the top races for good reason — she has the most wins on the season (four) and has only been in the bottom once, when she successfully sent Nina Bo’Nina Brown home in the lip synch (episode 10). But to be fair, Shea hasn’t been our season-long frontrunner, she only recently took that top spot after Valentina unexpectedly went home after a disastrous not-actually-lip-synching lip synch in Episode 9. Shea has proven herself to be successful as a comedy queen and a fashion queen, confident as much as she is vulnerable and always firmly in control of her image — it’s no small wonder why she’s our prediction to win.

Trinity Taylor – second in predictions to finish 3rd (7/2 odds): Make of it what you will, but the fact that Trinity fails to lead our predictions in any of the four races is indicative of how inconsistent she’s performed all season. Trinity was the first of the Final 4 to have to lip synch for her life (Episode 4), but also has three overall wins (Episodes 3, 7 and 10). Aside from that she has two non-win high scores (Episodes 2 and 9) and a pair of bottom three scores (Episodes 8 and 11). In the last five episodes she’s been a top performer three times and a bottom performer twice. That being said, Trinity takes greater risks than any of the other queens and has broken out beyond the mold of pageant queen that she started the competition with.

Gold Derby readers just like YOU often turn out to be our smartest prognosticators, so it’s important that you give us your predictions. You can continue to update and change your forecasts throughout the week, just click “Save” when you’ve settled on your choices. You’ll compete to win bragging rights and a place of honor on our leaderboard. Be sure to read our contest rules and sound off on the season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.